Taminick Military Encampment 2004   I arrived at Rob & Gina's at 7:30 am on Friday morning which was still later than Rob would have liked. So much for the sleep in on Friday. We arrived at Taminick with relatively few mishaps along the way and proceeded to set up camp. The site is divided into "Historical" and "Modern" encampments. The Historical is canvas tents of appropriate structure and are out of the way of the modern tents or caravans for those who are not into the full-on thing. Some of the moderns have been nicknamed Farbies which I'm told comes from "Far be it from me to criticise your choice of costume..." Supposedly more used for the sort of person who wants to wear something because it's funky rather than because it's accurate. In addition to the Pike & Musket Society (The Routiers) with whom I was camping, there were various groups of American Civil War re-enactors, a French Napoleonic group, 3 or 4 British Napoleonic (including the 42nd Highlanders and the 95th Rifles), the Mt Alexander Rifles, a group doing the Texas Rough Riders, and another doing American Revolutionary War. I quite enjoyed my weekend. I finally met the Sydney Routiers and discovered why various people in Living History have mistaken me for Spike. We're both of a similar build, both geek fanboys and both have similar senses of humour. He was very dismayed that I had not discovered the BBC cartoon The Big Knights. This has now been remedied. In the interests of true Star Trek tradition we have decidided that the evil one is the one with the beard... My "Evil Twin" Helmut ze Jerman Captain Ross Our Fealess Leader I think I took my breeches in twice over the weekend and they were STILL falling down! There was some discussion had on whether braces were considered appropriate or whether the hook and eye thing from doublet to breeches was the preferred method. It would seem there is some difference of opinion amongst scholarly debate so either will work. Belts are a no-no. Thankfully my orthotics fit into the shoes I had borrowed (though with some fussing to get the shoes on). But the clothing was surprisingly comfortable. Nice and warm too. I noticed on Friday night that while my breath was fogging I wasn't feeling cold at all. I've decided that I really want to get myself a period eating set. This was about the time that the fork first came into use among society (it took a little more time to filter across to the Americas which is why they use a knife and fork differently to the British). I've bought myself a nice pewter goblet from a chap who used to be part of the Pike & Musket and still imports the occasional item. I've discovered that having a plain canvas tent means you have more light inside the tent during the day. I think I knew this but had not consciously understood this until the weekend. I can see the allure of some of the Napoleonic stuff because at least they get a camp bed which has got to be easier to make comfortable than a straw mattress. Our electric kitchen Dinner 17th Century style "Form ranks" "I stand where?" An inspiring address Prepare to march The Grand Old Duke of York He had 10,000 men He marched them up to the top of the hill By which time they were completely knackered! Load powder check the shot carefully before loading BANG! Richard & Ross take fire What are they shooting at I wonder? Friday night I got talking pipes and tobacco with a few of the chaps from the 42nd Highlanders. Later that evening Bill commented that my outfit would look far better with a nice churchwarden clay pipe. I agreed and said I didn't know where to get them. About half an hour later he came back with a cardboard tube and pulled out two of them, put one in front of me and said I could keep it. Woo Hoo! I shall have to write him a nice thank you note. Saturday morning was a general parade and I was moved from Ensign to Pikeman to even out the numbers. Trying to balance 17 feet of wooden pike up on your shoulder using only one hand is trickier than I imagined. Though I think I would have been able to pick it up a lot quicker if I was told what an order meant "before" it was given :-) Saturday afternoon was various talking, meeting with other groups, and discovering people I'd lost contact with years ago had moved into Living History at about the same time! Saturday afternoon saw the official military dinner with all the various units performing a toast in the manner approapriate to them. Given the large contingent of Napoleonic groups there was a lot of "God save the King" but there was one "Vive l'Emperor", one to "God, King and Parliament", and several made by the American Civil War groups. The dinner was fun though Sunday was guard duty for Wayne and myself at the firing range. Pretty straight forward: anyone going in needs to have a pass. Easy. Later saw me having my first attempt at firing a matchlock musket. For my first shot I hadn't pulled the musket back into my shoulder enough and the kick on it shoved the butt into my cheek. Had a nice little bruise there by the end of the day. My second shot went off well and my third shot actually knocked the target off the post! Ph33r M3! After that it was time for the final parade and then to pack up. I met a chap called Lon Teal who was also from Melbourne and seemed very enthusiastic about getting an ECW group in Melbourne going again. We shall see what develops. One thing I did notice is that there are a large number (well at least a dozen – for this sort of thing I'd consider that large) of kids roaming around the camp. Industrious little buggers too. By Friday afternoon they'd blockaded an arch on one of the gum trees going over the road and were charging a toll for people wanting to pass through! There also seems to be quite a few couples (though most women seem to have become involved because their partner was). Which considering that most of the military units are blokes in uniform and the women are only involved in the campsite is interesting. I quite enjoyed myself and I think I'll be back next year.